Very Interesting

It's no secret that I engage in online personals. I met a couple of guys when I lived in St. Louis via Match.com and also had a couple of encounters here with the same service. I think, though, that I have found the secret to online dating, or whatever you want to call it: Don't put down too much information. Odd, huh?

When I was on Match, I spent a lot of time trying to convey in 1,000 characters or less who I was, what I was looking for and all that blather. It was very important to me to not present myself in a false light. Well, I just didn't have much luck with that tack. I met a couple of nice guys, but I was not even given the time of day by quite a few that probably wouldn't have minded going out with me. And, in the usual female way, I took it personally and somehow figured that I wasn't good enough. Forget this online dating thing!!!! Besides, all I wanted was to get out, meet some nice guys and, possibly, strike up a romance. Not too much to ask, is it?

In a fit of pique, I changed services to Yahoo personals. I had one photo of myself that I liked and I filled out the "About Me" multiple choice section honestly and the "About Him" section honestly without being too picky (I mean, a college grad under 47 who doesn't smoke really isn't too much to ask for). I wrote a two sentence description saying that I'm hardworking, I like to hike, talk and listen to NPR and threw caution to the wind.

I have had a much higher percentage of guys contact me. It's crazy! And the best part is that they are all, pretty much, in my age range (I was married to someone 11 years older than me, I have no desire to date someone that old now--I was also spoiled by dating someone 6 years younger than me most recently and have an appreciation for the Non-Viagra set).

In the past 5 days I have been on two "get to know you" dates and there's a second date (maybe it's a REAL date) coming up in the next couple of weeks. So, if any of you out there are thinking of trying the online personals, Less is more. But you have to post a photo. A lot of guys automatically think that you are either 800 lbs or are hiding some kind of disfigurement when you don't have a photo.

Advice from a successful online dater.